Dr. William Landis, the G. Stafford Whitby endowed chair in polymer science at the University of Akron, updates the progress of the research using the cartilage from Kyle Figuray malformed ear in his office in the Polymer Science building on the University of Akron campus. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

Dr. Noritaka Isogai, a profefessor and chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Kinki University Hospital in Japan, talks about the future of tissue engineering with Dr. William Landis in February. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)